May 30, 2010

George Allen was a defensive-minded coach who preferred a conservative, run-based offense. With the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League, the formula was unchanged from what it had been in the NFL. On May 30, 1983 the ground game lifted the Blitz to a win over the Arizona Wranglers before a sparse crowd of 13,952 at Soldier Field.

The running tandem of Kevin Long, an NFL veteran with five years of experience with the New York Jets, and rookie Tim Spencer (pictured above) keyed an attack that ran up 253 yards on the ground. It was especially welcome in that an inexperienced first-year quarterback, Tim Koegel, was getting his first start in place of 36-year-old veteran Greg Landry, who had suffered a broken ankle the week before.

Arizona, with a 4-8 record coming into the game, scored first when QB Alan Risher connected with WR Neil Balholm for a 21-yard touchdown pass play. The Wranglers went for two points and successfully converted for an 8-0 lead. Frank Corral put Chicago, 8-4 entering the contest, on the board later in the first quarter with a 40-yard field goal.

The Blitz took control in the second quarter, scoring 21 points on two more field goals by Corral, a 36-yard TD pass from Koegel to WR Trumaine Johnson that was followed by a successful two-point conversion, and a 40-yard punt return by WR Lenny Willis.

The Wranglers never got back into the game, with a 36-yard field goal by Phil Denfeld in the third quarter accounting for their remaining points. Chicago added two more field goals by Corral, a one-yard touchdown run by Spencer, and a safety to win the contest handily, 36-11. The margin could have been wider – while the veteran kicker Corral connected on four field goal attempts, he also missed three.

Long was the top rusher for the Blitz, gaining 102 yards on 19 carries. Spencer added another 90 yards on 16 attempts, including the short TD. Reserve RB Mack Boatner accounted for 47 yards on 8 runs. In all, Chicago ran the ball 50 times and averaged 5.1 yards-per-carry. Meanwhile, Koegel completed 12 of 29 passes for 202 yards with an interception and a touchdown. Trumaine Johnson had a typically solid outing, leading the receivers with 4 catches for 117 yards and a score.

The Blitz defense throttled Arizona’s offense. The Wranglers accumulated only 62 net yards of passing offense and gained 46 yards on 21 running plays. Chicago ran up five sacks, with DE Junior Ah You leading the way with two (Koegel wasn’t sacked at all). Arizona had just seven first downs (as opposed to Chicago’s 25) and was forced to punt 9 times. They also suffered 9 fumbles, losing 4 of them (the Blitz turned the ball over three times).

RB Calvin Murray led the Wranglers in rushing with 34 yards on 9 carries. Alan Risher threw 24 passes and completed 15 of them for 104 yards and the lone touchdown while having none picked off. Both Murray and RB Steve Howell caught 6 passes, with Murray’s 36 yards topping the receivers.

The Blitz, preseason favorites to dominate the USFL, failed to live up to expectations, but nevertheless concluded the regular season with a 12-6 record; that put them in second place in the Central Division behind eventual-champion Michigan due to tiebreakers. It was good enough for the lone wild card spot, but they lost to the Philadelphia Stars in the Semifinal round of the playoffs. Arizona fell to the bottom of the Pacific Division, continuing to lose the rest of the way and ending up with a 4-14 tally. Oddly enough, these franchises ended up switching locations for the 1984 season.

Both Tim Spencer and Kevin Long (pictured below) rushed for a thousand yards in ’83, with Spencer, despite nagging injuries, placing fourth in the league with 1157 yards on 300 carries (3.9 average) and six touchdowns and Long ranking sixth with 1022 yards on 262 attempts, also for a 3.9-yard average but with 12 TDs.

May 27, 2010

By the spring of 1968, George Halas was a 73-year-old man with a bad hip that was hindering his mobility (it was a legacy of his brief major league baseball career with the Yankees back in 1919). Yet it was still something of a shock to pro football fans on May 27, 1968 when he announced that he was retiring as head coach of the Chicago Bears after a total of 40 years.

It is hard to do justice to the pro football career of “the Papa Bear” in just a few paragraphs. It has been said that Halas didn’t invent pro football, it just seemed that way. His involvement extended beyond a single franchise – he was a significant figure in the development of the entire NFL. Halas was present at the 1920 organizational meeting of what would become the National Football League, representing the Decatur Staleys. From that beginning, as a player, coach, and business manager, he became a part-owner of the team in 1921, when the Staley Starch Works decided to forego operating a company-sponsored football team, and moved the franchise to Chicago.

After a year as the Chicago Staleys (A.E. Staley provided Halas $5000 in startup money with the stipulation that the Staley name be kept for a year), Halas rechristened the team the Bears after working out a lease agreement to play at Wrigley Field, home of major league baseball’s Cubs. He retired as a player in 1929 and also gave up coaching, handing the reigns to Ralph Jones while working out business matters with co-owner Ed Sternaman. After buying out Sternaman, Halas returned to coaching the team in 1933 and left for a second time in 1942 to join the US Navy during World War II. Once discharged, he again took up coaching in 1946 and retired following the ’55 season. He came back one last time in 1958, after having effectively maintained control while longtime assistant Paddy Driscoll was head coach.

While Halas had the ultimate job security of owning the team, the fact was that he was an outstanding and innovative coach, leading the Bears to a title for the first time in 1921 and the last time over forty years later, in 1963. In all, he coached the team to six championships, with at least one in each of his stints (1921, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1963). They also won championships under Jones (1932) and co-coaches Luke Johnsos and Hunk Anderson (1943), with Halas still a major presence in the running of the club.

Halas pioneered in the development of the T-formation with man-in-motion, assisted by Ralph Jones and University of Chicago coach Clark Shaughnessy. He was the first coach to hold daily practices and regularly analyze game film of opponents. He was an outstanding judge of talent, of coaches as well as players, surrounding himself at all times with able assistants (most notably Driscoll, Johnsos, Anderson, George Allen, and Jim Dooley) – and Halas also pioneered in the use of an assistant coach as an “eye-in-the-sky” during games. The results were reflected in a 318-148-31 record (.682) with a 6-3 postseason tally. The Bears had winning records in 34 of his 40 seasons on the sideline.

Off the field, Halas was a party to many rules changes and innovations that helped the league to gain appeal and improved the game (use of hashmarks, allowing passing from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage, structuring of the league into divisions with a championship game concluding the season, etc.). He also recognized the value of revenue sharing among the teams for the good of the overall competitive balance of the league and the significance of radio and television as tools for popularizing pro football.

As a coach, Halas was a strong disciplinarian and an emotional leader who was notorious for storming up and down the sideline while berating referees during the course of a game. He took criticism for being tight with money and complicit in the unofficial color line that kept African-American players out of the NFL during the 1930s and 40s. However, he also was the first coach to allow a black and white player to room together on the road (Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo) and could be generous to players in need (during Piccolo’s ultimately losing battle with cancer, Halas reportedly paid all of his medical bills).

There were contradictions, but there could be no question that George Halas set high standards for later generations of coaches and showed farsightedness in moving the league forward. The influence of “the Papa Bear” is still felt decades after his death in 1983 – and some 90 years after he helped found the NFL.

May 25, 2010

NOTE: Due to the adoption of the 16-game schedule as well as rules changes that had a major effect on opening up the passing game, the 1978 and ’79 seasons significantly skew the Top 10 results. Therefore, following the Top 10 is a list of the next 5 best performances that occurred exclusively from 1970-77.

May 23, 2010

NOTE: Due to the adoption of the 16-game schedule as well as rules changes that had a major effect on opening up the passing game, the 1978 and ’79 seasons significantly skew the Top 10 results. Therefore, following the Top 10 is a list of the next 5 best performances that occurred exclusively from 1970-77.

May 22, 2010

As the Denver Gold hosted the Los Angeles Express on May 22, 1983, they not only were in the midst of a four-game losing streak but were under the direction of an interim head coach, Charley Armey. Owner Ron Blanding, concerned that the team was on the verge of falling out of the running in the Pacific Division, had dismissed Head Coach Red Miller (pictured) following the previous week’s 17-9 loss to the Boston Breakers. Miller thus became the first USFL head coach to be fired.

However, the move was not a popular one with Denver football fans. Miller had coached the NFL’s Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1977 and was thus held in great esteem. He had compiled a 42-25 record in four seasons with the Broncos, easily the best up to that time in the club’s history. For Blanding to hire him to coach the Denver USFL franchise was great for public relations – firing him was not. Moreover, even though the Gold was a mediocre 4-7, they were only a game out of first place in a weak division.

The Express, 5-6 and tied for first with Oakland, had lost three of their last four contests. The teams may have been far from the cream of the crop in the league, but were in the running for the postseason, thus making this a key division matchup.

At halftime Denver held a 7-0 lead thanks to a 31-yard touchdown pass play from QB Alvin White to RB Harry Sydney. LA tied the score in the third quarter as QB Mike Rae connected with RB John Barnett for a 19-yard TD. Brian Speelman moved the Gold back in front later in the period with a 50-yard field goal, but the Express won in the fourth quarter as Barnett dove into the end zone from a yard out with 3:32 left to play. Los Angeles went home the winner by a 14-10 margin.

The lackluster effort by the Gold was reflected in the statistics. The Express led in time of possession (34:28 to 24:32), first downs (22 to 10), and yards from scrimmage (373 to 185). There was no dominant runner for LA - RB Wilbert Haslip led the club with 36 yards on 8 carries while John Barnett, with the two TDs, contributed 33 yards on 9 attempts and RB LaRue Harrington added 30 yards on 12 rushes. Mike Rae, formerly of Toronto in the CFL and a backup with Oakland and Tampa Bay in the NFL, completed 21 of 43 passes for 275 yards with the one TD and two interceptions. WR Anthony Allen led the receivers with 5 catches for 68 yards.

As he did all season, RB Harry Sydney (pictured at left) led Denver in rushing with 46 yards on 13 carries and added another 44 yards on three pass receptions, including the team’s lone touchdown. Alvin White saw his only action of the year at quarterback, completing 2 of 7 passes for 38 yards with two interceptions and the one TD. QB Ken Mortensen completed 9 of 15 throws for 109 yards with no touchdowns and none picked off. Along with Sydney, two other receivers had three catches apiece (TE Bob Niziolek and WR Johnnie Dirden), with Dirden accumulating the most yards with 54.

Owner Blanding sought to mollify the loyal Denver fans (the team led the USFL in attendance in 1983, averaging 41,736 per game). He hired Craig Morton, quarterback of the 1977 AFC Championship team, as head coach in the week following the loss to the Express. The Gold won their first two contests with Morton at the helm, but ultimately ended up in third place with a 7-11 record. Los Angeles also missed out on winning the league’s weakest division, finishing second at 8-10.

Denver had sought to remain competitive while adhering closely to the original USFL philosophy of eschewing high-priced players in order to control costs. The defensive unit was respectable, but the offense lacked firepower – the Gold had the lowest-rated passing offense. Harry Sydney was one of the few notable offensive performers, rushing for 801 yards on 176 carries (4.6 average) with 9 touchdowns and catching 31 passes for 306 yards and another two scores. Bob Niziolek also performed well, catching 37 passes for 373 yards and three TDs. But the quarterbacks combined for just 4.6 yards per pass attempt with 36 interceptions against 19 touchdowns.

May 20, 2010

The Tampa Bay Bandits had started slowly in the United States Football League’s second season, but after a 3-3 beginning they won six straight contests. Coached by the offensive-minded Steve Spurrier, the team was adept at both passing and running.

On May 20, 1984 the Bandits (9-3) hosted the New Orleans Breakers (8-4) in a key Southern Division matchup before a crowd of 42,592 at Tampa Stadium. The Breakers had gotten off to the better start, going 7-2 before losing two of the prior three contests.

Tampa Bay scored first, thanks to a three-yard touchdown pass from the 34-year-old veteran QB John Reaves to WR Eric Truvillion. 20-year-old rookie RB Marcus Dupree tied the score for the Breakers near the end of the opening period on a one-yard run. The lead changed hands twice in the second quarter as Tim Mazzetti put New Orleans ahead 10-7 with a 31-yard field goal, followed by a two-yard TD run by Tampa Bay’s multi-talented RB Gary Anderson (pictured above), which was in turn followed by another Dupree one-yard touchdown carry that gave the Breakers a 17-14 advantage at halftime.

New Orleans turnovers in the third quarter proved crucial. The first was recovered by Tampa Bay LB Kelly Kirchbaum at the Breakers 20 yard line and resulted in a game-tying field goal by Zenon Andrusyshyn. On the very next New Orleans possession, it was DB Dwayne Anderson recovering a fumble for the Bandits, again deep in Breakers territory at the 30. This time it resulted in a touchdown as Gary Anderson ran for a three-yard score and 24-17 lead.

Mazzetti kicked a 19-yard field goal just over four minutes into the fourth quarter to narrow the margin, but Anderson’s third touchdown of the day, on a two-yard run with just under two minutes left to play, capped Tampa Bay’s 31-20 win.

Marcus Dupree was the game’s leading rusher, with 104 yards on 18 carries, while RB Buford Jordan contributed another 53 yards on 12 attempts as the Breakers outran the Bandits, 160 yards to 137. FB Greg Boone led Tampa Bay with 61 yards on 14 rushes while Gary Anderson, who scored all three of his TDs on the ground, had 57 yards on 16 carries. However, as an outstanding receiver out of the backfield as well as runner, Anderson gained 74 yards on 6 catches.

John Reaves had a typically solid passing performance, completing 23 of 32 throws for 276 yards with a TD and an interception. Eric Truvillion led the Bandits with 7 catches for 80 yards and a score. Meanwhile, John Walton connected on 19 of 32 passes for 258 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. WR Frank Lockett had an outstanding game with 5 pass receptions for 127 yards.

Neither team dominated the statistics, with Tampa Bay enjoying slight advantages in first downs (22 to 20) and time of possession (30:09 to 29:51). Both squads fumbled the ball away three times, but the Bandits better capitalized on their opportunities. Neither quarterback was sacked (not a surprise in the case of the Breakers, who allowed Walton to be sacked only 13 times all season).

Tampa Bay ended up with a 14-4 record, placing second in the Southern Division to Birmingham due to tiebreakers but losing to the Stallions in the first playoff round. New Orleans limped to an 8-10 mark to finish third in the division. Having moved from Boston after the ’83 season, the Breakers relocated to Portland, Oregon for 1985.

John Reaves, who had been a disappointment in the NFL but a prolific USFL passer, ranked fourth in passing, including second in yards (4092) and completions (313) and third in TD passes (28). John Walton, a 36-year-old veteran of the Continental, World, and National Football Leagues, finished out his career with 3554 yards passing and 17 TDs to 19 interceptions.

Eric Truvillion had a second strong season as he caught 70 passes for 1044 yards (14.9 average) with 9 touchdowns. Frank Lockett snagged fewer passes (56) but for more yards (1199) and a 21.4 average with 8 TDs.

May 19, 2010

NOTE: Due to the adoption of the 16-game schedule as well as rules changes that had a major effect on opening up the passing game, the 1978 and ’79 seasons significantly skew the Top 10 results. Therefore, following the Top 10 is a list of the next 5 best performances that occurred exclusively from 1970-77.